Brazilian Federal Police investigate fraud in cleaning services contracted by municipalities in Bahia.
The Federal Police carried out 15 search and seizure warrants, 10 warrants for coercive questioning, and eight other precautionary measures in the cities of Palmas de Monte Alto, Aracatu, Riacho de Santana, and Botuporã, all in southwestern Bahia, in two separate operations this Tuesday; the current mayor and secretary of Administration and Finance of Aracatu and public servants of Palmas de Monte Alto were removed from their public functions; the operations were named 'Chronos' and 'Syagrus'.
Bahia 247 - The Federal Police carried out 15 search and seizure warrants, 10 warrants for coercive questioning, and eight other precautionary measures in the cities of Palmas de Monte Alto, Aracatu, Riacho de Santana, and Botuporã, all in southwestern Bahia, in two separate operations this Tuesday.
The current mayor and secretary of Administration and Finance of Aracatu, as well as public servants from Palmas de Monte Alto, have been removed from their public positions. The operations were named Chronos and Syagrus.
According to the Federal Police, the actions stem from police investigations initiated at the Federal Police Station in Vitória da Conquista to investigate fraud in bidding processes and the execution of contracts for cleaning, hygiene, and daily maintenance services in buildings belonging to the municipalities of Aracatu and Palmas de Monte Alto, between 2014 and 2017.
According to the police, investigations revealed that a company that won bids in both municipalities was a "front." Many of the contracted employees were either "ghost employees" or provided services in establishments that were already completely deactivated, such as dozens of schools.
The investigation revealed that the funds received by the company were passed on to municipal employees linked to the former mayor of Palmas de Monte Alto or to relatives of the current mayor of Aracatu, who used only part of the money to pay people from rural areas or teenagers to carry out the contract's objectives. The remainder was allegedly misappropriated.
Police investigations revealed that, between April 2014 and May 2016, the municipality of Palmas de Monte Alto transferred a total of R$ 652.297,20 to the company.
The municipality of Aracatu, since the signing of the contract in 2015, has transferred the amount of R$ 4.064.217,24. Due to the fraud, the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region ordered the freezing of R$ 3.192.388,27 of this amount.
The name Syagrus is a reference to the catolé palm tree, which was abundant at the time the municipality of Palmas de Monte Alto was founded. Chronos, on the other hand, refers to the goddess of time, since the origin of the name Aracatu means "good weather, stable weather".